Baby Names – Houston vs Chicago
Baby names
This year, the most popular baby names tended toward the traditional — Sophie and Aiden were tops again in 2012. But for every couple thousand Emma’s and Noah’s running around, you know there has to be a little tyke who had more “creative” parents.
Babycenter.com has just released its top unusual names for the year — and let’s just say some of them are sure to be character-building for the infant they’re bestowed on. Take the young lad called “Hippo” for instance, should probably befriend “Jedi” and his pal “Thunder” for a little school-yard protection (actually “Popeye” might be most useful). Lucky boys “Espn” and “Google” seem to have landed themselves corporate sponsorship early in life — and “Cajun”, “Mango” and “Burger” shouldn’t be surprised if people are always hungry around them. And if names are self-fulfilling prophecies — watch out for “Casanova” and “Vice”!
When it comes to the girls, parents were clearly inspired by all things Gallic — “Vanille”, “Couture” and “J’Adore” all made appearances on the list. Geography in general proved popular, with “Zealand” and “California” being written on birth certificates this year. The letter “S” stands for “Sesame”, “Shoog” and the hopefully ironic “Sanity”. Re-invented spellings added another layer of “flair”, with “Hailo” and “Thinn”. For it’s glorious embrace of all that’s absurd, however, you just can’t go past “Yoga”. Unless it’s with “Leeloo”.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/13/unusual-baby-names_n_2295031.html
Houston vs Chicago
Similar sized cities with a lot in common.
Until you get to gun availability, temperature and homicide rates.
Gun control activists’ conclusion: Cold weather causes murders.
http://www.gunssavelife.com/?p=6570
Ron Noble
Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said today the U.S. and the rest of the democratic world is at a security crossroads in the wake of last month’s deadly al-Shabab attack at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya — and suggested an answer could be in arming civilians.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Noble said there are really only two choices for protecting open societies from attacks like the one on Westgate mall where so-called “soft targets” are hit: either create secure perimeters around the locations or allow civilians to carry their own guns to protect themselves.
“Societies have to think about how they’re going to approach the problem,” Noble said. “One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you’re going to have to pass through extraordinary security.”
“Ask yourself: If that was Denver, Col., if that was Texas, would those guys have been able to spend hours, days, shooting people randomly?” Noble said, referring to states with pro-gun traditions. “What I’m saying is it makes police around the world question their views on gun control. It makes citizens question their views on gun control. You have to ask yourself, ‘Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?’ This is something that has to be discussed.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/exclusive-westgate-interpol-chief-ponders-armed-citizenry/story?id=20637341